Chocolate Brandied Raisin Cookies

I made these cookies over the Christmas break after my brother had requested "brandy butter cookies", in jest. Well I looked around on line, but there didn't seem to be anything of the sort. I decided I might make some white chocolate chip cookies with an addition of brandy, but then I found this recipe which looked great (on Chasing Tomatoes - originally adapted from Martha Stewart.com) for a cookie a little less mellow. The brandy doesn't come out very strongly, but works well with the raisins.

These cookies are really chewy, but have a crisp exterior, which the cinnamon sugar really adds to. Be sure not to overcook these, as the texture would be lost. I often substitute dark chocolate for milk chocolate, but for this recipe, dark chocolate is definitely the way to go given such a cocoa-rich dough.

Chocolate Brandied Raisin Cookies

Makes 12

Ingredients:
75g raisins, chopped
4tbsp brandy
90g plain flour
1½tbsp cocoa
½tsp cinnamon
½tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼tsp salt
55g butter
100g soft brown sugar
4tbsp honey
100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Cinnamon Sugar:
50g caster sugar
¼tsp cinnamon

Method:
1. Pre heat the oven to 165°C/ 325F/Gas 3. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. Bring the brandy and raisins to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and leave  for 20 minutes. Cream together the butter and sugar in a medium sized bowl until light and fluffy. Add the honey and continue mixing.

3. Sift the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda and salt into the butter mixture and stir to combine.

4.Drain the raisins and add to the butter mixture, along with the chocolate pieces.

5. In a separate bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon

6. Scoop two tablespoon blobs of cookie dough and douse with the cinnamon sugar. Press the blobs together, shape into a ball and roll in the cinnamon sugar again, before placing on the baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough, spacing each cookie 2 inches apart on the baking tray/s to make about a dozen cookies.

7. Place the baking trays in the centre of the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until just set with tops about to crack. Leave to cool on the trays for  a minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a Tupperware for up to three days.